Angola will send a military unit to the DRC after the failure of the ceasefire with the M23

March 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of Angola announced this Saturday that it will send a military unit to support peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after the ceasefire with the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group failed. ).

“In the scope of the decisions taken by the different mini-summits on the peace and security process in the DRC, in accordance with its responsibility as a mediator in the framework of the Luanda Process and after consultation with the Congolese authorities, Angola will send a contingent unit of support to the peacekeeping operations of the Angolan Armed Forces”, reads a statement from the country’s Presidency.

According to the letter, the main objective of the unit is “to secure the areas where the members of the M23 are stationed and to protect the members of the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism.”

On the other hand, the Angolan authorities have communicated the decision to both the United Nations and the African Union or the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). Likewise, they will request the National Assembly “the corresponding authorization for this purpose.”

The DRC Army accused the M23 on Tuesday of violating the ceasefire that came into force that same day and that had the objective of “opening the way to a direct dialogue” with the Congolese government to try to reach a peace agreement. The decision of the truce, according to the M23, was in line with the results of the contacts held in Angola and “the decisions adopted in different regional summits” in Burundi, Kenya and Ethiopia.

The rebel group is made up mainly of Congolese Tutsis and operates mainly in the North Kivu province. Following a conflict between 2012 and 2013, the RDC and the group signed a peace agreement in December. In these combats, the DRC Army had the support of United Nations troops.

The group launched a new offensive in October 2022, intensified as of November, which has caused a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda over their role in the conflict. UN experts pointed out in December to the existence of “substantial evidence” of “direct intervention” by the Rwandan Army in the conflict.

They also highlighted a collusion between the Congolese Army and various armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Mai-Mai, to combat the M23, including the proposal by armed groups to “mobilize 600 combatants”. to reinforce the ranks of the Armed Forces.

Rwanda has accused the DRC of supporting the FDLR — a rebel armed group founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda — and of using the Mai-Mai militias — Congolese nationalist militias formed to defend their territory. against the numerous rebel groups that have been active since the 1990s– in the context of the conflict. Likewise, he has denounced discrimination and acts of hate against the Tutsi minority in the neighboring country.